Recognising Your Internal Expertise

Does your organisation know what it knows? Have you come across a situation where your organisation appears to favour expertise from consultants more than its own employees? As the old joke says,

"a consultant is someone who borrows your watch to tell you the time, and then keeps your watch."

In my experience this is not unusual and is both baffling and frustrating to the experts in your organisation. So why does expertise and knowledge play better from consultancies and consultants?

Perhaps familiarity breeds contempt. Employees that have been in the organisation a long time and have built up a mine of expert knowledge may find their superiors stop recognising the contribution they can make. Consultants promise something new and special; however, your employees might be able to deliver the same or better at a lower cost.

Keeping your employees happy and engaged through recognition (not just reward) is important, and part of it is recognising and using their skills and expertise. Dr. Bob Nelson, co-founder of Recognition Professionals International, summed up the result from a lack of recognition for employees when he said, "people may take a job for more money, but they often leave it for more recognition."

This is not to say consultants don't have their part to play, they do. They bring a fresh approach and perspective to a project. So before handing your project over to a consultancy, it's worth thinking about how you will collaborate with them.

Working with Consultancies

Consultancies often stick to what they know, and not what the client knows and does well. This can lead to an increase in different systems and processes along with associated costs. Many consultancies don't like being constrained by existing guidelines, processes and systems.

When working with consultancies, consider the areas of expertise you have, and what areas the consultancy needs to provide. How will these work harmoniously?

It's important to set clear goals, guidelines and boundaries with consultancies from the outset. This may sound obvious, but is often neglected in favour of getting on with the work. For example, you may wish to manage the project and have consultancy resources working for your project manager. Alternatively, you may want the consultancy to take on the project management for you. Whichever it is, make sure there are clear and agreed roles and responsibilities from the start.

In summary...

Don't neglect your employees, they have a wealth of knowledge and ideas for new products, services, strategies for saving money and much more. Successful organisations mine this information and put it to good use. Next time you're thinking of engaging a consultancy, think again, your employees may have the answers you're looking for, and perhaps collaboration is the way forward.


source:projectsmart